Alex MeiringTrusha NaidooRuan VermeulenSchalk Joubert In compliance with the law, our communication is only to registered smokers over 18 years of age. Primarily male and living in urban areas, they recognise, understand and enjoy – of their own volition - the personality and character of the Lucky Strike brand. Our goals are to further their understanding; to help them develop an intuition that recognises the brand character and architecture even when Lucky Strike isn’t wearing its usual “uniform”. As one consumer put it, “I feel like one of those vampires in the movie ‘Blade”, walking around knowing something that nobody else does”. We stripped the interior of a train and redecorated it completely. The 14 carriages comprised “chill-out” observation coaches, 4 bars, 4 dance floors, a games room with Playstation and pinball, and an I-coach with satellite phones and internet connection to spread word-of-mouth.Each coach also had a Local Area Network “Pod”, where partygoers scanned their fingerprints and were given missions to complete.These missions involved finding brand clues hidden in the décor, in games, or on posters and drinks coasters. And as consumers absorbed this brand information, we had a unique data capture opportunity.With a total of 8 trips carrying 400 consumers each time, we had a willingly captive audience for about 8 hours per trip, and immersed each consumer deep into the brand world. They now understand the brand’s real character rather than just the clothes it wears.After the event, we e-mailed 240 personalised m-pegs to individual participants, as well as giving videos to every registered participant. Current legislation prohibits any form of above-the-line advertising for cigarette brands, as well as any use of the brand name or logo unless in a one-to-one situation. This demands a deeper analysis and understanding of consumer contact points, and therefore the media solution becomes at least as important as the creative strategy.

The media team created the overall concept of a train party that would involve consumers in an interactive experience of the brand world for a period of 4 hours or longer. They also analysed the points of interaction with a view to building a comprehensive consumer database, and designed appropriate challenges to stimulate the consumer throughout the experience. The strategy was to create a positive environment where the brand talked with, not to, consumers. This allowed positive (and self-endorsed) word-of-mouth.Elements of the brand were placed where consumers would “find” them, play with them, interact with them – and, in so doing, be measured on the database. The target market, of their own choice, sent e-mails, SMS, and made phone calls to the outside world. VJ consoles (a “visual DJ” experience) allowed consumers to create their own interpretation of the brand, and so discover its architecture. While Pod missions (as explained in section 4) were written to exploit each aspect of the brand world, yet allow speculation and interpretation.Hence, Impact was not a statistical formula based on assumptions. The measurability of delivery could be accurately tracked, and didn’t rely on Opportunity to See/Hear but rather on the fact of interaction.And through the interactivity, we had viral word-of-mouth which delivered the desired Reach and Frequency. Wastage on Spend was minimised, interaction measurable, and elements really came alive. “Instead of watching the commercial, you got to live the commercial”.

Current legislation prohibits any form of above-the-line advertising for cigarette brands, as well as any use of the brand name or logo unless in a one-to-one situation. This demands a deeper analysis and understanding of consumer contact points, and therefore the media solution becomes at least as important as the creative strategy.

The media team created the overall concept of a train party that would involve consumers in an interactive experience of the brand world for a period of 4 hours or longer. They also analysed the points of interaction with a view to building a comprehensive consumer database, and designed appropriate challenges to stimulate the consumer throughout the experience.